


Bienvenido a Casa, Old Friend.

by DisasterZone



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Argentina, Coffee Shops, Elementary School, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Original Character(s), Volleyball
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:33:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26606791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisasterZone/pseuds/DisasterZone
Summary: Iwaizumi hasn't seen Oikawa since he left for Argentina, and he doesn't really mind. I mean, he missed his best friend a lot in the beginning  (who wouldn't), but it didn't bother him so much now. He'd made a life for himself  without Oikawa and he was happy. He has a job he likes, a nice apartment, good friends, and maybe even a girlfriend. He doesn't need change. He doesn't want it. Not even a little. Too bad his new neighbor has come to a different conclusion.
Relationships: Hanamaki Takahiro/Matsukawa Issei, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Tendou Satori/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Comments: 3
Kudos: 30





	1. Not That Interesting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iwaizumi's life is not that interesting and that's just how he likes it.

Iwaizumi had a very exciting high school career. He was the ace of his volleyball team. His best friend was the dramatic and talented setter. Every match seemed to have everyone's dreams hanging in the balance. It was a lot to go through. After graduation, however, his best friend left to play volleyball in Argentina and Iwaizumi went to college in Tokyo. He played a bit of volleyball in college, but soon quit to focus on his studies. After college he got a good job as the principal at Pillar Elementary where he had gone as a child. He had an apartment nearby and had become Aoba Johsai’s volleyball coach. 

He even had a girlfriend. 

Well, if you asked anyone who saw Iwaizumi Hajime and Mori Sakura together then they were clearly dating. Iwaizumi, however, was not dating the owner of the coffee shop next to his apartment building. They were just friends. She was very cute, though. She had short dark hair and piercing dark eyes. When she told people she owned a coffee shop they would be thrown off. She wasn’t the cute girl one would expect to run a coffee shop. They weren’t so surprised when they saw her shop. It wasn’t like a cutesy café. It had black walls covered in artwork done by patrons of the shop. All the tables and chairs were the metal ones meant for patios. The lights were dim and the windows were covered by closed blinds. It wasn’t the most conventional place, but it suited Mori. She was more blunt than most and wasn’t lost in her emotions. She was logical and patient. Iwaizumi had had some classes with her in college before her shop took off and he couldn’t really explain it, but she always had this calming effect on him.

He was happy with this simple life. It was a nice change from high school. He felt like he could finally breathe now. He could focus on himself and he liked it. The quiet and the calm. Nothing surprised him. His life was predictable and after having to spend so many years racing to keep up with Oikawa it was all more than welcome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a bit of an intro. You like it?


	2. A Familiar Voice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iwaizumi just wants to go home and relax after a long week of work and pretend that he didn't embarrass himself in front of the cute barista.

It was Friday and I couldn’t be happier.

It had been one hell of a week and I was excited to be done with work. I loved working with kids, but they really could become too much. Especially when what is supposed to be my relaxation time is dedicated to coaching my high school volleyball team. My respect for Nobuteru has only increased as I’ve gotten older. How he dealt with me, Oikawa, Mattsun, and Makki for three years I will never know. He must’ve had a constant headache. Well, maybe not from me and Oikawa. I was pretty well behaved and I kept Oikawa in line for him. Mattsun and Makki, however . . . 

I walked into Oak Coffee and took a deep breath. The smell of black coffee filled my senses and I instantly relaxed. I hadn’t realized that thinking back to high school had made me tense up so much until the familiar smell and feeling of Oak Coffee had soothed me. I smiled as I walked over to the counter. Mori stood there and gave me a small smile.

“Evening, Iwa,” she said, “Rough day?”

I shrugged, “I live an exciting life.”

“No, you don’t.”

“You’re right.”

“Your usual?” she asks with a smile.

“Yeah,” I say smiling back.

I watch as she makes my coffee. Maybe I should ask her out. We’ve been friends for years and I’ve liked her since the beginning, but I’ve never done anything about it. Maybe I should. She’s great. I’d be surprised if there weren’t people asking her out all the time. If I don’t at least try soon then I may never get my chance.

Mori hands me the coffee, “What are you thinking so hard about?”

I shook my head in an attempt to hide my subtle blush, “Work.”

“Alright, well, I’ll see you around.”

“See you,” I smile as I leave.

Once I’ve made it in front of my apartment building I cover my face with my hand. I am the most awkward person alive most likely. I mean she probably thinks I’m a psycho. She clearly didn’t believe me when I said I was thinking about work. Oh, god. What if she knows? What if she knows that I’m thinking about asking her out? What she thinks that I’m stupid to think I have a chance with her? What if -

My thoughts were cut off by a familiar voice, “You still look constipated when you’re upset.”

My eyes shoot towards the voice in surprise. I wasn’t a stranger to hearing this particular voice when frustrated or upset, especially right after high school, but I stopped that years ago. And it sounded so real. That has to mean . . . 

“What are you doing here, Oikawa?”

He gave me one of the smiles that made it clear why girls all loved him. That was just so . . . content and familiar that I smiled a bit myself, “Aren’t you happy to see me, Iwa-chan?”

I marched over and wrapped him in a tight hug, “Don’t call me Iwa-chan.”

He laughed and hugged me back, “You really haven’t changed all that much.”

I pulled away and took a few steps back, “Of course I’ve changed. It’s been years, Oi.”

“Ah, true,” he said, waving a finger in my face, “But you haven’t changed so much that you aren’t Iwa-chan.”

“Why are you here?” I asked, returning to my original question.

He pointed at the apartment building we were standing in front of, “I’m going home after running an errand.”

I furrowed my eyebrows, “Home?”

He nodded, “I just moved her about a week ago.”

“What about Argentina?”

“I played my best, but my time is up,” he said dramatically.

“I’m sorry, Oi.”

“Oh, don’t be,” he said, waving me off, “Happens to the best of us. But, hey, at least I got to play with Chibi-chan for a bit.”

“Chibi-chan?”

“Oh, right! I mean, Shouyou. You remember Hinata Shouyou?”

I nodded, “When did you start calling him Chibi-chan?”

“Well, when we played together he spent a lot of time with Kuroo Tetsurou and Kenma Kozume and Kuroo called him Chibi-chan so I sort of picked it up.”

“Kuroo . . . you mean that rooster looking guy and his setter?” I asked.

Oikawa grinned, “Yes, them. In fact, Kuroo said he wanted to visit me at my new apartment today and knowing him he’s bound to bring Kenma. Would you like to come?”

I scratched the back of my neck, “I don’t know, Oiks. I’ve had a really busy week and I want to rest before tomorrow . . .”

Oikawa just rolled his eyes and grabbed my arm to drag me away, “You’ll have plenty of time to relax later. Now is the time to catch up before Rooster-chan and Pudding-chan arrive.”

He said that I haven’t changed at all, but if I’m being honest, neither has he.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look who's here!! I love the dynamic of Kuroo, Kenma, Oikawa, and Iwaizumi so I HAD to include it.


	3. Playing Catch Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa takes over Iwaizumi's night and he isn't sure if that's such a bad thing.

Oikawa pulled me into the elevator and pressed for floor three. I was so caught up in seeing an old friend and being forced to spend time with him and all his new friends that I didn’t make the connection that not only did Oikawa live in the same apartment building as me but we were even on the same floor. Oikawa was practically giddy the entire ride up. He was talking a hundred miles a minute about all the games he played with Argentina and the broad strokes of his career. He was talking so fast, in fact, that I couldn’t keep up with what he was saying. I just smiled as he talked and thanked whoever may or may not be waiting for us after we die that I had kept very close tabs on Oikawa’s career and had watched every game. Oikawa was still talking and I was still enraptured by the words I couldn’t process as Oikawa made his way closer to my apartment. We were so caught up in each other that I didn’t notice when we passed by my door labeled as 3D to the door labeled 3E. Oikawa unlocked the door and we both went inside.

I regained some kind of sense when Oikawa left me in his living room as he walked into the kitchen. The set up was familiar to me for some reason, but there was something about it that threw me off a bit. The room I was in was an open space that had both the living room and the dining room in a sort of L shape that, when the kitchen was added, made a square. Before me was a couch, coffee table, and a tv. Directly to my left was a door that led to the kitchen. Just passed the kitchen door was an open space furnished with a dining table and some chairs. There was a little widow in the wall between the kitchen and the dining room and two doors on the back wall that led to a bedroom and a bathroom.

I wasn’t sure how I knew that, but I did.

“You can take a seat on the couch while I get us some tea, okay?” Oikawa called from the kitchen.

“Look at you, being a good host. Guess you finally became an adult in Argentina, huh?” I joked as I sat down.

Oikawa gasped, “Mean, Iwa-chan!”

“Looks like I was wrong. You still aren’t an adult,” I laughed.

As much as I teased him and treated him like a nuisance I really had missed him. And I know that he knows that. That’s how we’ve always been. Sometimes people think I hate him because I always say that I do, but those who really know us know that’s not true. It’s never been true and I don’t think it ever could be. We’ve been able to pick out the hidden messages of “I can’t let you get hurt” in “dumbass” and “you’re one of my favorite people” in “you’re so small” for as long as I can remember and this was the first time I really thought about it. Before Oikawa left it was so second nature for us to treat each other the way we did that I never thought twice about it. Now, after not talking for years, our ease with each other is more obvious. I’d had a lot of friendships over the years and none of them were anything like the one I had with Oikawa.

“Ah, my constipated friend, what has you so deep in thought?” Oikawa asked as he handed me a cup of tea and sat down.

I took the tea and glared at him, “I’m not constipated, dumbass.”

Oikawa laughed, “Okay, but you were thinking about something. What was it?”

I looked at him and smiled only a little.

We were never really vulnerable about feelings, at least not real ones. We dealt with those on our own, but as I’ve grown I’ve become more comfortable with saying how I feel honestly. In my experience, it only serves to make people closer and so I try to not lie about how I feel. Except when it comes to Mori and how I feel about her, but that’s something else entirely. But I don’t feel ashamed of having honest emotions so there was nothing stopping me from answering Oikawa honestly.

“Just thinking about how much I missed you.”

Oikawa’s face went slack and he paled a little. I was terrified that I’d done something wrong or that maybe he was sick. He slowly turned his head away from me and took a slow sip of his tea. I’d never seen him react like this to anything before. He looked awful and a little scared.

“Hey, Oikawa, are you okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” he said with a strained voice and his eyes glued to the wall which made it seem like he wasn’t okay, “I’m mostly curious about what is new with you since we’ve already talked about me so much.”

I wasn’t convinced, but I didn’t want to push him, “I’m a principal at an elementary school right now. It’s not the easiest job, but I’ve always liked working with kids.”

“You have,” Oikawa nodded, still not looking at me but his voice stopped shaking.

“Yeah, um,” I tried to act like I wasn’t worried about him, “I’m the coach at Seijoh now.”

He perked up a bit and finally looked at me, “Really? Good old Seijoh? Anyone we know still there?”

I laughed, partially in relief, “You remember that ancient history teacher?”

“Mr. Gomes?” he asked loudly, already on the brink of hysteria.

“On my first day he walked two first years up to me and said ‘you managed Oiwaka Turoo so well that I trust you with these two’ before leaving them in the gym.”

Oikawa was practically on the floor at this point, “Oiwaka Turoo? Why doesn’t he just say out right that he hates me?”

We were both in fits when the door bell finally rang. Oikawa opened the door for who I recognized as an older Kuroo Tetsurou and Kozume Kenma. Kuroo had aged well, I guess. His hair was still a dark and tangled mess, but he seemed to have found a way to make it seem professional. Kenma’s hair was even longer then I remembered. So much so that he had it mostly tied in a low bun. Kuroo and Oikawa embraced as Kenma just rolled his eyes without looking up from his phone before moving to sit in the spot on the couch that Oikawa just evicted. By this point I had stood up and was standing awkwardly beside the couch. Kuroo let go of Oikawa and walked towards me as Oikawa closed the door. When Kuroo finally saw me a smirk spread across his features. The way he walked over to me was almost cat-like.

“You must be the infamous Iwa-chan,” he said slyly.

I didn’t like that at all.

“Iwaizumi is fine,” I said, trying to sound friendly.

Kuroo put his hands up in defense, “In my defense I had no idea what your name was until now.”

I looked at Oikawa who very quickly ran off to the kitchen.

I chuckled and extended my hand to Kuroo, “I see. Well, nice to meet you, officially.”

He took my hand, still looking mischievous, but now we were a united front against Oikawa’s shenanigans, “The pleasure’s all mine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all must be as lonely as I am. You really read all the stories by the established authors and have to turn to me, now? (No, but for real, thank you for liking the story in any capacity.)


	4. He Moved On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iwaizumi gets a glance into what Oikawa's life has been like since high school and it's different then he imagined.

“So, I had to spend an entire day calling people, because this asshole couldn’t keep his mouth shut,” Kuroo laughed.

Oikawa pouted, “How was I supposed to know that she was that coach’s daughter?”

“Everyone knew,” Kenma added from his place next to Kuroo.

We had all come together around the dining table with some take out. Oikawa had offered to cook, but no one wanted that. I had witnessed years of Oikawa’s ‘cooking’ for years and apparently Oikawa had not made a single meal for himself while in Argentina, so Kuroo and Kenma didn’t trust it either. Oikawa insisted that he could cook now, but we out voted him and ordered something. We’d shared different stories from our adventures after high school. I could tell that they all had been through a lot together and were really close. I almost felt left out at times. I didn’t dwell on it, though. That’s what happens when you don’t talk to someone for years.

“Alrighty,” Oikawa said, standing up, “I’m going to the bathroom. Don’t miss me too much, Iwa-chan.”

“Why me?” I called after him as he left.

Once he was gone Kuroo leaned toward me excitedly, “So?”

“So, what?” I asked.

“What’s going on with you and Oikawa? An old flame, relight?”

What was he talking about?”

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“Everyone thought you were dating in high school and Oikawa talked about you so much that we all guessed that you really were dating. Now, seeing you two together like nothing happened makes it look like you’re dating again,” Kenma said with shocking monotone.

“What?” I said loud enough for Oikawa to hear and immediately quieted, “What?”

Kuroo looked confused, “So, you two aren’t dating?”

“We never were!” I said, once again a little too loud.

“You weren’t what, Iwa-chan?” Oikawa asked as he sat back down.

“We were talking about the Seijoh orgies,” Kenma said with an even more shocking monotone.

Oikawa just rolled his eyes, “How many times do I have to tell you that those aren’t real?”

I wanted to ask more, but it would make this all suspicious.

Kenma looked up and made eye contact with Oikawa who started blushing and said, very loudly, “Si mencionas eso, haré que Kuroo te quite tus juegos.”

*If you mention that, I’ll have Kuroo take your games.*

Kuroo put his hands up in defense, “No me metas en esto. Ni siquiera sé qué está pasando.”

*Don’t bring me into this. I don’t even know what’s going on.*

Oikawa ignored Kuroo and continued to glare at Kenma who looked at him emotionlessly.

“What’s happening?” I asked.

All eyes turned to me.

“Are you guys speaking Spanish? When did you learn Spanish?”

Oikawa looked like he wanted to laugh, “Iwa-chan, I lived in Argentina for years. Did you think that I’d talk to everyone would be Japanese?”

“What about Kenma and Kuroo?”

Kuroo, who’d been watching Kenma with something that looked like concern, looked to me, “Kenma and I have a lot of business there.”

“Oh,” I said.

I remembered that this was Oikawa’s life. He lived in another country and learned another language. He met interesting people and did interesting things. He made new friends and called them things like Chibi-chan and Rooster-chan and Pudding-chan. He had moved on. I thought that I’d moved on, but I guess that I really hadn’t. My main friends were still Makki and Mattsun. Sure there was Mori, but we weren’t that close. These thoughts tugged on my mind for the rest of the night and didn’t leave me until I finally fell asleep.

~~~~~~

I rushed out of the apartment building to Aoba Johsai. I had woken up a bit late and I needed to hurry. As I was running something caught my eye. There was a slight ledge on the outside wall of the apartment building and resting on it was a familiar looking coffee cup. I must’ve put it down when I went to hug Oikawa yesterday and forgotten about it. I picked up the cup and threw it away before heading to my old high school.

By the time I got there the gym was already full of students. The captain, Oikawa Takeru, had the team warming up. Takeru was Oikawa’s nephew so I knew him pretty well before I started coaching him. He wasn’t that much like his uncle. He was less dramatic and childish. 

I walked in and called him over, “Morning, Takeru.”

“Good morning, Iwaizumi,” he responded.

“I had a question for you, captain.”

The blood drained from his face.

I only called him captain when he had slipped up on his duties.

To be fair he kind of had.

“Why didn’t you tell me your uncle was back in Japan?” I asked him.

His fear was replaced with confusion, “Uncle Tooru is back?”

What?

“Yeah, he’s been living next door to me for a week.”

“He didn’t tell us anything.”

I sighed, “Okay, well, you know your uncle. He probably has some convoluted plan so why don’t you keep this to yourself, okay? Try to forget I said anything if you can.”

Takeru shook his head, “When will he grow up?”

“I have no idea.”

Yeah, I liked Takeru.

He ran back to the rest of the team and started to instruct them on what they were going to do during practice today. One thing he had in common with Oikawa was his ability to lead. With him as captain I really didn’t need to do much. As I watched I heard a familiar voice. I turned around and smiled at the scene that happened almost every Saturday. Makki was dragging a very reluctant third year towards the gym. The third year, his brother Hanamakki Akihiko, was giving every conceivable reason that he didn’t have to be here. Makki responded with how he went to practice in high school and it wasn’t that bad. I smiled to myself and Takeru ran out like he does every Saturday.

“Hanamakki-san, I've said that I can get him each morning,” Takeru insisted.

“And I’ve said that’s not your job,” Makki nearly spat, “My captain never had to get me.”

“Your captain wouldn’t get you even if you begged on your knees,“ I joked.

“That’s true,” said someone from beside me, “I wouldn’t get anyone for practice. Not even for milk bread.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's an Iwaoi fanfic without Matsun and Makki?


	5. They're Still Children

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iwaizumi coaches Aoda Joshai and they have a practice match.

I turned around to see Oikawa standing beside me, “Oi?”

He smiled at me, “Good Morning, Iwa-chan!”

Makki marched over and smacked Oikawa in the back of the head, “When did you get back?”

“About a week ago,” Oikawa said, rubbing his head.

Takeru rolled his eyes as he walked past his uncle, dragging Akihiko behind him. It was clear that he was making no effort to greet his uncle whom he hasn’t seen in years. In fact, it seemed like he was ignoring Oikawa. Makki and I stifled laughter knowing full well that this was annoying Oikawa and that Takeru was doing it on purpose.

“I missed you at what was supposed to be your birthday dinner,” Oikawa said, smirking, “Where were you, nephew?”

Takeru froze for a moment and, judging by Oikawa’s satisfied look, failed to hide his shock before hurrying into the gym. Makki and I exchanged glances. He was still Oikawa, but he seemed sharper if possible and more patient. Needless to say, we were proud of him, but this would only serve to make him more terrifying than he already was. 

“What was that about, Oikawa?” Makki asked as he and I walked over.

“Yeah, Takeru said that you didn’t tell your family that you were back?” I chimed in.

Oikawa cocked his head, “Of course I told them, Iwa-chan. I’m not a monster.”

“But, Takeru . . .” I started, but Oikawa cut me off.

“It was meant to be a birthday surprise for him. I’d show up to the dinner and everyone would cheer and Takeru would be so happy!” he said, dramatically, ”Unfortunately, he never showed up.”

“Based on your face, you know why he wasn’t there,” I prodded.

Oikawa only turned and smiled slyly at Takeru, “I had my suspicions, but I believe I just received confirmation.”

Back on his bullshit, I see.

Oikawa whipped around like nothing happened, “Anyways, I came here hoping to see Makki or Mattsun so we could catch up so If you’re free we should get going, yes?”

Makki and I made eye contact before Makki responded, “Yeah, sure. I’ll just text Matsun real quick.”

I just rolled my eyes, “None of you can ever sit still. I can already feel the migraines that I stopped having years ago come back.”

“Mean, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa pouted.

I smiled to myself as Makki turned back to us, “Mattsun says to just go to his place and then figure something out there.”

“Sounds like a plan!” Oikawa called as he dragged Makki away, “See you later, Iwa-chan!”

I smiled and waved at him. As I watched the two leave I silently thanked his purposeful nature that he didn’t stick around long enough to hear my next announcement. 

I turned back to the team and called out, “Okay, everyone, I got a bit of a surprise for you today. We got a practice match and you’ll never guess who we’re playing.”

The boys left to prepare the gym for our guests. They didn’t bother to ask who we were playing because they knew. We only ever really played one team. I could ask other couches about practice matches, but this team was always fun to have the boys play. And their couch agreed. 

As timely as ever, I felt a looming presence behind me, “Will you ever walk up like a normal person?”

“Why would I do that?” Tendo Satori drawled.

I rolled my eyes, “Fine.”

Tendo turned to his team, Shiratorizawa, and started giving them instructions. Soon the game was in full swing. Both teams played their best the whole time. When we were in high school Shiratorizawa was by far the better team, but as time has gone on we’ve evened out. Aoba Joshai barely won. Both teams worked together to clean up as Tendo slunk over to where I was observing.

“A little birdy told me that a certain Oikawa Tooru has returned to Japan.”

“How does Ushijima know?” I asked.

Tendo just shrugged, “You know how he is.”

I rolled my eyes, “What does he want?”

“He wants to pay him a visit.”

“That’s creepy, Tendo.”

“I know,” Tendo defended, “But he’s stubborn. What’s worse is Oikawa hasn’t started working yet so he has to go to his house.”

“How does he plan on finding out where Oikawa lives?”

Tendo looked at me with hooded lids.

“I’m not going to tell you.”

“Ushi already knows, Hedgehog,” Tendo said as he looked back at the teams.

I whipped around to look at him, “What? How?”

“I may have made an educated guess which I happened to be able to confirm.”

“How can you read people like that?” I asked, genuinely curious and possibly scared.

“I’ve been studying Oikawa for years, Hedgehog. I know him better than you do, but to be fair that’s because you’re stupid, so it wasn’t hard to figure out,” Tendo said so fast that I only picked up enough to follow what he was saying before he started to list off facts and guesses, “Just moved back to Japan. Has limited people here. You’re here and still close with his family.”

“How did you-”

“Desperate for some comfort right about now. So, I made a guess which was confirmed when I saw and overheard you and your friends catching up while I waited for the team and, voila! I texted Ushi during the game. He’s probably already there.”

I felt like I was seething.

Tendo looked at me and sighed, “I’ll handle cleaning up from here. You can go. I’ll be right behind you.”

I looked at Tendo and nodded before running off, “Thank you. This man is insane.”

I missed Tendo’s sigh as he looked to the sky, “Ain’t that the truth, Hedgehog. Ain't that the truth.”

~~~~~~

I ran to Oikawa’s door and knocked furiously. He didn’t answer so I assumed that he wasn’t home yet. I sighed and decided to just wait for him outside. Ushijima would probably try and stop him as he entered the building, anyways. As I headed outside I thought about the fact that I saw Oikawa for the first time since high school yesterday and I haven’t had a moments peace since. And it’s not a coincidence. Oikawa is a whirlwind and he always has been. You spend any kind of time with him and you just get caught up and flung around for god knows how long. But I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t missed the feeling of getting caught up with Oikawa.

I don’t know how long I’d been waiting before Oikawa walked over to me, “Iwa-chan? Why are you sitting here?”

“There you are,” I jumped to my feet and began dragging him inside, “We gotta . . .”

I was stopped by a familiar voice saying a little too loudly, “Look, I love a good Oikawa bully as much as the next guy, but maybe we leave him alone for Hedgehog's sake.”

Ushijima didn’t even look at Tendo as he answered, “I don’t know who Hedgehog is.”

“Oh, shit,” Oikawa mumbled just loud enough for me to hear.

Ushijima stopped walking right in front of Oikawa and just looked at him. Oikawa assumed an indignant posture. I got flashbacks to high school tournaments. Everytime these two saw each other they did the same thing. It seems graduation and years to grow hasn’t changed that. Tendo and I make eye contact and we can tell that we’re thinking the same thing. These two volleyball superstars are children who will never grow up. We both fight back a laugh. It would be inappropriate and only serve to piss Oikawa off.

“Come to tell me that I should’ve gone to Shiratorizawa, Ushiwaka?” Oikawa said, flippantly.

“No,” Ushijima said seriously, as he says all things, “I came to ask you to play volleyball with me in Poland.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I edited the last few chapters, so, for those who are returning, Iwa is now a principal at an elementary school.


	6. Awkward Coffee Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iwaizumi, Oikawa, Ushijima, and Tendo talk more about it over coffee.

Oikawa rolled his eyes dramatically, “Oh, my god, Ushiwaka! Do you ever stop?”

“At least hear me out,” Ushijima said, clearly expecting this response.

I took this moment to step forward, “There’s a cafe just over there where you can sit down and talk.”

Ushijima nodded, “That sounds like a good idea.”

Oikawa just rolled his eyes and followed Ushijima to the cafe. Tendo gave me a look as he walked past me. I understood what he meant in the same way that I understood him earlier, but this time the message was different. These two care about volleyball far more than we have ever cared about almost anything. We know this so we are willing to sacrifice a lot for them to get to be happy. Tendo gets annoyed by Ushijima’s fixation on Oikawa and I don’t want to lose my best friend again, but if that’ll make those two happy then we’ll support them all the way. It was an almost painful realization, but I knew that it was true and it probably always had been. 

And probably always will be.

“Iwa-chan?” Oikawa’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

I looked up and saw him standing a few feet away while Tendo and Ushijima were right outside the cafe door. Oikawa gave me the look that he always did when I was being dense. I knew what he was trying to say, but it was just so funny when he thought I was stupid. I furrowed my brows and cocked my head.

Oikawa rolled his eyes, “Come on. We have the world’s most painful meeting to attend.”

I pointed stupidly at myself, “Me too?”

He marched over and grabbed my arm, “Yes, you, dumbass,” as he began to drag me towards the cafe.

See? We’re both cruel to each other.

I walked into the cafe with these three very tall men behind me. Mori gave me a look as I came in. She could tell things were oddly tense between me, her good friend from college, and the three intimidating strangers behind me. I walked up to her and smiled. She seemed to relax until Oikawa dramatically draped himself over me.

He smiled slyly at her, “I see you started making a drink when you saw Iwa-chan. Is he a regular here?”

Mori looked determined as she answered, which I didn’t understand, “Yeah. Iwa always gets the same thing.”

Oikawa’s eyes widened, “Iwa, huh? I’ll have the same thing.”

“Add a shot of caramel to his,” I rolled my eyes.

“Iwa-chan, stop policing my coffee!”

“You won’t like mine. Ushijima, Tendo, order. I’ll be buying.”

“I’ll have a lungo!” Tendo called over Oikawa’s head, “And he’ll have an Americano.”

Mori shook her head, “Did you say Ushijima? Like Ushijima Wakatoshi the volleyball player?”

I furrowed my brows, “You watch volleyball?”

“Yeah. I started in college.”

“Who’s your favorite team?” Tendo asked.

“Well, I didn’t know much about volleyball so I just watched Iwa’s favorite team.”

“Oh?” Oikawa asked, “And who’s Iwa’s favorite team?”

“Argentina” Mori said at the same time as I said “Japan”.

Mori and I looked at each other very confused.

“Who said that Argentina was my favorite team?”

“You never missed a game,” Mori insisted, “We’d all try to hang out on weekends and you’d turn us down saying that Argentina had a game. You still do that.”

Oikawa looked at me with a look that was too touched for my liking, “Iwa-chan you watched every game?”

I pushed him off of me, “Bring us our drinks. We’ll be staying here. Thank you.”

With that I guided everyone to a table. Oikawa, avoiding the inevitable, suggested that we wait for our drinks before we started talking. Tendo took this opportunity to catch up with Oikawa as I explained everything to Mori over text. I told her that Oikawa and I went to high school together and played volleyball. Ushijima and Tendo played for an opposing team. The tension between Oikawa and Ushijima were especially high until graduation. After graduation Oikawa became the setter of Argentina’s volleyball team (she said he looked familiar), Ushijima started with Poland’s volleyball team, and Tendo decided to be a chocolatier and the coach of Shiritorizawa’s volleyball team. She thought that was all very cool and mocked me as she gave us our drinks. It wasn’t obvious to everyone else, but I knew. That was all she needed. 

Ushijima opened his mouth to speak, but Oikawa held up his finger as he took a sip. He was stalling. I took a sip of my drink and gestured for Tendo and Ushijima to do the same. I kicked Oikawa under the table and he gave me a scandalized look. I gave him a look which I knew that he understood to mean ‘stop stalling and get on with it, dumbass’. He gave me his signature pout, but listened.

“Okay, Ushibaka,” he said, “What did you want to talk to me about, again?”

“First, congratulations on moving back,” Ushijima said, as he grabbed something from under the table, which was odd as I don’t remember him having anything, “I brought these as a house warming present.”

It was a fucking cardboard box full of fucking strawberries.

Oikawa and I just stared at it in silence for a solid minute before Tendo spoke up, “Ushiwaka visits Japan often enough to maintain a garden! His strawberries are especially delightful.”

“Ah,” Oikawa said awkwardly as he took the box, “Thank you.”

Ushijima nodded before continuing, “I came here to invite you to join me in Poland to play volleyball.”

Oikawa simply smiled at him, “No.”

“Oikawa,” I scolded quietly.

He threw me a ‘what’ look as Ushijima spoke again, “I understand that you left Argentina’s team so it seemed like the perfect time to invite you to join me in Poland.”

Oikawa stiffened, “I’m sorry, Ushijima, but I cannot play volleyball with you. Now nor ever.”


End file.
